1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for turning or repositioning a bedfast patient, and more particularly to a device for maintaining the position of the bedfast patient once repositioned while at the same time providing certain preventative maintenance functions.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known in the nursing field that there are common and recurring problems associated with the care of bedfast patients. Generally, most such problems are due to the patient's reduced body strength and limited mobility of their upper and lower extremities. In more particular, one such problem stems from the requirement that bedridden patients must be rolled from one side to the other every two hours in order to prevent the formation of bed sores. It is also not uncommon for inclined hospital beds to cause bedfast patients to slide towards either end of the bed thereby requiring the nursing staff to move the patient along the length of the bed back into a more desirable and comfortable position. Due to the awkward weight of a bedridden patient coupled with the patient's inability to offer assistance, these repositioning tasks amount to strenuous lifting and sliding exercises and are quite difficult to perform. In fact, nurses frequently incur back injuries when attempting to reposition a bedfast patient. For fear of these injuries, nurses will occasionally neglect their repositioning duties or perform them on an irregular basis thereby subjecting the patient to undue comfort, and, in so doing, possibly even enhance the formation of bed sores. Additionally, the failure to reposition a patient can sometimes lead to pulmonary complications or urinary tract infections. A further problem associated with repositioning bedfast patients is the potential for the patient to become bruised from being bumped against the bed rails during the repositioning process.
Additionally, after the patient has been moved into a more desirable position, it is often the case that the patient will gradually migrate back into an undesirable position. Moreover, the bedfast patient will frequently migrate into a position whereby the patients's spine and hips are unstable. Accordingly, there is a need in the health care industry for a device to stabilize the bedfast patient's spine and hips while at the same time maintaining the patient's position after that patient has been repositioned.
Finally, bedfast patients are prone to a condition known in the health care industry as "hip adduction." "Adduction," in the anatomy sense, is defined as "the action by which a part of the body is drawn toward the bodily axis." New Webster's Dictionary of the English Language, 1981. The term "hip adduction" is generally used in the nursing industry to describe the condition occurring in a bedfast patient who has been allowed to remain in poor body alignment whereby the patient's hip muscles are drawn toward the medial line of the body thereby causing contractures to the knees. In more particular, these contractures can be described as the shortening of the hip-to-knee muscles which thereby causes the knees to be pulled toward the hips. The contractures will not necessarily occur in both legs. If the muscle contracture occurs in only one leg, then the knee of the contractured leg is forced into flesh-to-flesh contact with the inner thigh of the non-contractured leg, which contact, if maintained for even the slightest periods of time, place the patient's knee and hip joints at risk of becoming, and often do become, "frozen" such that the respective knee and inner thigh become "fixed" together. As a result, pressure areas are formed thereby causing skin irritation. As a further consequence, a break in skin integrity may develop, and ultimately result in the formation of blistery sores commonly known as decubitus ulcers. If the muscle contracture occurs in both legs, then both knees are forced against one another thereby causing the same difficulties, only in a different location.
This condition can be broken into three problematic aspects: (1) the muscle contractures resulting from the patient's poor body alignment; (3) the skin irritation and sores resulting from the contractures; and (3) the risk that the contractures, if not prevented, will cause the joints to become fixed in a "frozen" state.
Heretofore, nurses have attempted to deter this condition first by using pillows to maintain the patient's body alignment, thereby eliminating the muscle contractures. In those situations where the contractures occurred before the nurse detected the improper body alignment, nurses have attempted to address the skin irritation and "frozen" joint aspects by simply placing pillows between the patient's legs. Unfortunately, some nurses will not take the time to locate a pillow for this purpose, and even when they do, experience has shown that even minimal shifting or "wiggling" movements by the patient tend to cause the pillow to gravitate out of position and become dislodged. Furthermore, pillows used in hospitals and nursing homes are covered with plastic, and although the plastic-covered pillows are also covered with a cloth pillow case, the pillow case will occasionally become displaced thereby exposing the patient's bare leg to the plastic and become irritated. Therefore, there is an urgent need in the nursing industry for a reliable device to prevent this disturbing and troublesome condition.
A preliminary search was conducted in the United States Patent and Trademark Office which produced the following references:
______________________________________ 2,644,173 4,723,327 4,872,228 3,284,816 4,754,509 5,148,558 3,829,914 4,872,226 ______________________________________
James U.S. Pat. No. 2,644,173 shows an impervious sheet with inflatable sides; Laubsch U.S. Pat. No. 3,284,816 shows a supplemental bed sheet combination employing rigid rods; Treat U.S. Pat. No. 3,829,914 shows a stretcher type patient positioning device; Smith U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,327 shows another patient mover; Pollard U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,509 shows a retainer sheet; Lonardo U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,226 shows a means for positioning bedfast patients employing straps, buckles, and hooks; Bishop U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,228 shows a bed guard to reduce the risk of falling out of bed; and Dunn U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,558 shows a patient transfer sheet.